Awake
by pieuvregeante
Summary: Olicity one shot set a few weeks after Sara's death. Oliver makes a choice regarding his feelings towards Felicity after her life is endangered. Fluffy ending.


**All characters belong to CW and DC Comics. I own nothing.**

"Oliver where are you?" Dig hissed into his cell.

"Busy" Oliver said curtly. He was perched on a fire escape across the road from block of flats just outside of the city centre.

"Come on, man. You can't give it a rest, just for a night?" Diggle asked without much heart, he knew there was little point to the argument. Oliver didn't respond.

"You know she would want you here"

If someone had been watching the leather clad man closely, they might have noticed his body slacken a little at the words, as if the wind was knocked out of him briefly. Diggle hung up after that, he'd said more than he should. Not too long after, the front doors of the apartment building opened and a pair of men stumbled out and headed down the street. Their relaxed gaits made the vigilantes blood boil. He followed the pair, keeping to the rooftops and fire escapes, never losing sight of his target. The high vantage points were always where he felt most comfortable, he could see everything he needed too and his prey was clueless. He would never admit to it, but the feeling of power this gave him was about the only thing that made him feel in control. He certainly couldn't find that feeling anywhere else in his life right now. He pushed the thought away and continued stalking the men to their next location.

...

"John?" a voice called out down the hall. John Diggle looked up to the sound and saw Laurel Lance trotting down the hall towards him.

"Hey" He said has he stood to greet her. They embraced briefly.

"How is she?" Laurel asked as Diggle returned to his seat and she took the next one over.

"Unconscious. She was hit in the head pretty badly; they're trying to relieve the pressure from internal bleeding. The doctors can't tell how long it will be" He said in a drawl that made it clear he'd had to repeat those words a dozen times. Laurel looked towards the door that was hiding Felicity Smoak from view, as if it might somehow contradict them.

"But she's going to be ok, right?"

"Well you know doctors, they were reluctant to say. But I've never seen our Felicity give up without a fight" he said with a sad smile.

"So, what happened to her?"

"She was leaving the club, these two guys jumped her, took her bag, jewelry" his hands went to fists as he said it "just left her, bleeding in the street"

The image of her lying next to her car was burnt into his mind. Laurel placed a reassuring hand on the man's large forearm.

"Where are the others?" She asked as if just noticing the lack of people waiting nervously outside Felicitys door.

"I sent Lyla home, Sara has trouble sleeping outside the house. Roy said he'd be back in the morning" He didn't mention Oliver, so she asked.

"These two guys, who are they?"

"Just some thugs, they were caught on a security camera, I believe Oliver is introducing himself now"

...

Oliver spent the rest of the night watching the men, following them from clubs to houses; it wasn't until just before daybreak they made their way back to the apartment they seemed to share. Oliver knew where it was, of course, but he waited until the men had passed out in the living room before stepping inside. It was a typical delinquent style home, messy, smelly and filled with other peoples belongings. He quickly found Felicity's bag, all of its contents still inside, he also found the necklace she'd been wearing, it looked expensive and Oliver suddenly wished he knew how she got it, was it a gift or did she choose it for herself? Would he ever get a chance to ask her? The last thought was like a punch and he had to brace himself on a wall while it passed. His steel returned and he turned back the oblivious men in the living room while he decided on a course of action.

He thought back to a few hours earlier, things between him and Felicity had been off since Sara's death but it was better in the last week or two, they felt like they were finally getting back to being friends, it wasn't perfect, he doubted it ever would be again but it didn't hurt as much to be around her anymore. She'd even teased him about caring for the fern; she'd arrived one morning to see him cleaning out dead leaves from the pot. After she left that night, Oliver noticed her tablet still sitting on her desk chair, odd for her to forget something like that. He took the stairs two at a time to try and catch her before she drove off without it; by the time he reached her she was already unconscious. Diggle arrived not a minute later, he'd come to talk to Oliver about something he couldn't remember. It was cruel, really, after everything they'd been through in the past few years, all the people they'd faced. All the times his lion hearted IT expert had stood face to face with the worst this city had to offer and came out on top, and it was these two scumbags that had put her in hospital. Oliver felt the need to be… creative, in their punishment.

...

"Still not answering?" Roy asked as Diggle hung up on yet another voicemail message. He just shook his head. By now it was mid morning, Roy and Lyla had returned to accompany Laurel and Diggle. It was a tense setting to be in, from the outside the group seemed like your average grieving family but if anyone knew the truth about these people, they might call them the cities greatest heroes. They might also begin to understand how hard it was for these people to sit and do nothing while their friend fought valiantly for her life just a few feet from them. Diggle seemed to be struggling the most, he hadn't slept yet but he couldn't stop fidgeting.

"You know what, that's long enough" he said before getting to his feet and disappearing down the hall followed by several questions from the group, he didn't answer any.

...

"What the hell are you doing?" asked a loud voice from the bottom of the stairs. Oliver turned away from the foundry computers to see his friend and partner marching towards him. His approach was clearly aggressive but Oliver felt no need to defend himself.

"I put trackers on the men this morning, when it gets dark I'm going to pay them another visit"

"_Another_ visit?" Diggle asked incredulously "you mean to say that you found the bastards and they're still breathing free air?" any normal man might've flinched at his tone.

"Prison is too good for these lowlifes" Oliver stated.

"So, what then? You're going to kill them? Do you really think Felicity would want that?"

Oliver looked up at his friend, he knew the man was gunning for him and he knew why but right now he didn't have the strength to fight. Diggle could see that and they were silent for a few moments.

"I won't kill them, but Dig" his voice caught in his throat and he had to steady himself before continuing "I can't stop thinking about how scared she must have been" he paused again "that's what they deserve. Fear"

"Oliver, Felicity isn't scared of anything; you saw her take down Slade for god sake. You know what I think this is really about?" Oliver glanced at Diggle for a moment before standing and making his way to the work bench, he tried to busy himself with his various arrow heads. Undeterred, Diggle continued.

"I think this is about you. Felicity is lying in a hospital bed right now and there's nothing you can do to help her, so you're dragging out this vendetta, because you know that once you hand them over to the police, you won't have anything to distract you from what's really going on, and you're not ready to deal with that" Oliver didn't respond but Diggle knew he'd hit his mark.

"You know what, Queen, if it were you in that bed, there is nowhere else on this earth she would be but by your side. I know you don't like feeling powerless but guess what, we're all feeling that way right now, so when you've decided to get over yourself you should stop by" Diggle turned to leave but stopped at bottom of the stairs for a final word "if she wakes up and you're not there… she'll understand, but I don't think you'll forgive yourself" and with that, once again, Oliver was left alone with his thoughts.

...

"Anything?" Diggle asked as he approached his friends, all right where he left them.

"The doctors said the bleeding has stopped, she's still unconscious but they're confident she'll be awake again soon" Lyla said, she got up to hug the man as he gave a deep sigh of relief. Just then, Felicity's doctor approached the group and everybody got to their feet.

"She's still asleep but if you'd like you can see her now, though it might be best to go in two at a time, you don't want to overwhelm her if she wakes up" the doctor turned and entered Felicity's room Laurel and Lyla took a step back so the boys could be the first to see her. They both cared for Felicity of course but it wasn't the same. Diggle and Roy entered and immediately held their breath. Felicitys head was weighed down with gauze, her left eye was noticeably coloured from bad bruising. She looked so pale without her usual bright makeup. The two men approached either side of her bed, taking one of her tiny hands each, Diggle ran his fingers over one of her bright blue chipped nails and prayed to god they'd never have to see her like this again.

...

After Diggle left, Oliver spent a long time training. He usually found a great deal of peace being physical, focusing on nothing but how far he could push his body. Not today. Today he didn't have the drive. He was exhausted from the moment he first grabbed the bar on the salmon ladder. He fell to the mat below four times before moving onto sparring dummies. Even they seemed to be beating him today. He'd received the message from Diggle saying that she could wake up any minute, but that did nothing to ease the feeling of panic that hadn't left his chest since he'd found Felicity in the gravel next to her car. He just couldn't make sense of his thoughts; he'd spent far too long with the same problems bouncing around inside his head. The more he thought about everything in his life that bothered him the less sense it all made to him. He was getting along, managing at the very least but, he slipped up. He'd spent so many years living day by day, he'd learned to not dwell on what his future could be, he gave up expecting anything from his life and he gave up wanting anything from it either. Then at dinner with her, he indulged himself, he looked Felicity right in her beautiful face and decided he was ready to want things again. He wanted to love someone, completely. He wanted to move past the pain and the lying and be happy. He was tired of fighting it; he was tired of denying everything that he felt, everything that she made him feel. He knew that now, she was the one who made him believe in good things. She was a good thing, the first good thing that had happened to him in such a long time. He loved her for that. He thought he could live without her, knowing that she was safe and happy would be enough but he was now realising he didn't _want _that, he wanted her, every single piece of her. After denying himself for so long, why shouldn't he fight for the things he wants?

...

Diggle woke with a start. He was at home in his bed, fully dressed down to his boots hanging off the edge of the mattress. Lyla had convinced him to come home now that Felicity was out of the woods. It was dark outside; the colour of the sky told him that it was only just after sunset. He found Lyla in Sara's room, reading a book to their baby girl.

"Morning" she said with a smile "there's some food on the counter if you're hungry. Are you going back to the hospital?"

"I'll try Oliver first; I just think someone should be there"

He pulled out his phone and opened his recent call list; the page was filled with Oliver's name. He sighed as the phone started to ring.

"Hey Dig" he heard after the first ring.

"So you figured out what the ringing sound means, huh?" he heard Oliver chuckle in response.

"I'm sure you're tired of hearing this from me but, you were right. I'm on my way to the hospital now"

"And what about your new friends?" Dig asked

"It should be on the news right about now" Oliver replied before cutting off the call.

Diggle moved into the living room and turned his TV to the 24 hour news channel.

_The two men are now in police custody after being arrested for a string of crimes including drug smuggling, theft, kidnapping, arson and many other charges relating to gang activity. The most interesting thing is how the police came to be in possession of these men and the overwhelming amount of evidence supporting each charge. It seems Starling City's vigilante left them unconscious on the front steps of the police precinct surrounded by a collection of drugs, stolen goods and even folders full of emails, account information and phone records linking them to a local crime organsation. It seems the vigilante is branching out from his usual white collar targets to a lower class of criminal. In other news…_

_..._

Oliver was just about to open the door when he regretted not bringing flowers. If he hadn't been so concerned about the state Felicity was in, he may have noticed the abundance of flowers that had been sent to her from her new boss, Ray Palmer. However, the only information he could retain was the dressing around her head and the bruising on her face, it made him feel sick. He pulled a chair up to the side of her bed and took her hand in both of his. He spent a while just watching her breathe, he'd been struggling, trying to find a way to say all of the things he needed to say but now that he could see her, it felt much easier.

"I don't know if you can hear me, not that it matters, you usually know what I'm thinking anyway" He paused for a moment, as if waiting for her to respond, when she didn't he carried on.

"I'm so sorry, for everything I've put you through these last few months. I've been selfish and stubborn, an idiot, I guess you'd say. It occurs to me now that the only thing that matters to me is that you're happy and safe. I've made mistakes and I don't expect you to forgive me or trust me, but you need to know that I am willing to do whatever I can to make amends. I want you, so much. More than I've wanted anything in my life" He had planned on saying a lot more but at the last words, Felicity let out a sigh and sound she made was the only thing he could think about.

...

The first thing Felicity became aware of was the weight on her left hand, that sensation was then overshadowed by the powerful headache she just realised she had. After a few tries she managed to open her eyes fully and start taking in her surroundings.

"_Why is it so bright? That seems unnecessary"_ She thought to herself. She started looking around at the machines with flickering lights around her head. When she remembered that she couldn't move her hand she looked down to see a man's head was resting on it.

"Oliver?" she said in voice so hoarse it was barely above a whisper. She placed her other hand on Oliver's head and ran her fingers through his short hair. He inhaled sharply and lifted his head, she smiled down at him.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you" she said through her dry throat. He just smiled back at her. "Is there water? My throat feels all sandy" she meant dry but wasn't completely awake yet. Oliver obliged by fetching a glass from the bedside table. She practically inhaled it and he got her a second.

"So, when do we get to the bit about why I'm surrounded by flowers and hospital equipment?"

"You were attacked, outside the club two guys took your purse-"Oliver started, he was cut off when she asked about her tablet.

"Don't worry I got everything back" he suddenly remembered the necklace in his pocket. He pulled it out and presented it to her.

"Oh, Oliver, thank you. I love this necklace" she said as she put it back around her neck. They were both quiet for a moment before she asked the inevitable question. "So did you kill those guys or what?"

"The fact that you're asking me that question so casually is a real testament to how much I've ruined you" he replied with a grin.

"Please, you couldn't ruin me. I'm too good" she said brightly.

"No arguments there" they were both quiet again for a while; Oliver kept his hand on Felicity's, as if she might disappear.

"Look, I don't know how this kind of thing works, but earlier I said some stuff to you… about us and you know… how I'm feeling. I'm just wondering if you got any of it" He spoke calmly despite the drumming in his chest. Felicity took a while to answer, though there was a good chance time had actually stopped altogether, Oliver thought. She seemed to be weighing her words carefully; it's not often that she took the time to think before speaking, unless it was particularly important.

"I heard you. I mean I guess at the time I thought I was dreaming but now that I'm awake I realise that I wasn't"

"I don't expect you to respond right now. I can wait. I just needed to make sure you understand where I am"

"Oliver, you know how I feel about you. That hasn't changed. I just got tired of watching you punish yourself. You're always so tied up in taking care of people that you disregard your own feelings. That's really not fair on you. I didn't want to wait our whole lives for you to see that"

"I want to change that. I'm tired of living like I have no future; I'm tired of pushing away the things I want and I want to be with you"

"I don't know if you recall, but we have been down this road before. I don't remember it going so well" she said reaching up to stroke his face, he took her hand placed a kiss on her palm.

"I know I messed up. I thought I could handle losing you, but with you… in here…" he let the sentence die off then added "I'm sorry that it took you ending up in hospital for me to come to terms with this, I'm so sorry"

"No one's perfect. Least of all you" she said, Oliver couldn't stand the distance between them anymore, he leaned in and kissed her. It was as wonderful as he remembered but this time he didn't hold back, neither did she. It was at least a thousand years before they separated.

"Maybe I should be thanking those streets thugs" she said a little breathlessly. Oliver shot her a disapproving look "you know, you didn't answer my question before and I'm genuinely concerned that you've killed them"

"I handed them to the police, like a gentlemen" he said proudly.

"Did you at least rough them up a little fist?"

"You could say that" he said before kissing her again. After a brief pause Felicity commented on the lack of doctors in the hospital so Oliver went to find a nurse. In the hallway he was greeted by the other two Arrow team members waiting patiently in their chairs.

"I did not… know you two were here"

"We've thought you guys might want some time alone, but I was very close to disrupting you several times" Diggle said as he and Roy stood to greet Oliver.

"Well I'm sure she wants to see both of you" at that Roy stepped past him and through the door.

"I don't know what happened in there, but judging by your face it feels like an 'I-told-you-so' is appropriate" Diggle said, rather smugly. Oliver clapped him on the shoulder before moving towards the nurses' station. He reminded himself to ask Felicity how she got her necklace.


End file.
